230

GENEALOGICAL AND OTHER NOTES RELATING TO THE DE ESTUR FAMILY OF. THE .

BY JOHN L. WHITEHEAD, M.R.C.P., LOND.

It will be readily understood that any attempt to deduce the earlier genealogy of the De Estur family from deeds and charters prior to 1280, many of these documents being undated, must be tentative and largely conjectural, and, therefore, in the absence of corroborative evidence, too much credence must not be accorded to it. I am more especially indebted to my friend, Mr. W. J. Parkinson Smith, for his thorough and exhaustive research for documentary proofs at the Record. Office, the British Museum, and other depositories where the deeds and charters of bye-gone days are now stored. The outcome of his research is embodied in the following paper on the genealogy of one of the earliest and most influential of the Isle of Wight families. It is stated by Woodward and Wilks1, that " Stur" or " Stir," the father of William, son of Stur, was Hardicanute's major-domo or mayor of the palace, and, with ^Elfric, Archbishop of York, Earl Godwin, and other men of distinc- tion, had the task of digging up the body of Harold I. Though the statement need not be regarded as altogether mythical, yet no documentary proof is adduced, On the other hand it can be shown that William, son of Stur "de Insula Guitti" was of Norman extraction, holding hereditary estates in the island. It is quite possible that there was a "Stur "at the Court of Hardicanute, the name being probably rather Norse than Norman; it was indeed for centuries the name

* History of Hampshire, Vol, 2, p, 167, HANTS FIELD CLUB AND ARCHJCOLOaiCAL SOCIETY.

MONUMENT AT , SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT ONE OF THE ESTUR FAMILY. 231 of one of the noblest Swedish families. Estur is also one of the oldest family names in the Channel Islands, where the population is without, any Saxon element. In all probability William, the son of Stur, came over from Normandy in the train of William Fitz Osberne, steward of Normandy, one of whose chief barons he was. Between the years 1066 and 1070, twenty-one manors were allotted to him for the services he had rendered. Thus he became one of the three lay tenants-in-chief in the Island at the time of Domesday—William and Gbzelin, sons of Azor, being the other two. The manors which he received were those of ; Gotten or Goditon, near to Chale; Appleford, in ; Gatcbmbe (comprising Whitwell and ); Whitcomb, in Whitwell; Cauborne (Westover) ; Ulwar- cumbe (Wolverton, in ); Egrafel (?); Cheverton (in or Shorwe.ll); Hardley, Orham, Alverston, and the two Whitfields (all being included in the modern Brading); ;. Hale, , Perriton, and Standen (in ); and Messley (in Newchurch). The area was 2,935 acres, and in the time of the Confessor was assessed at 24 hides 3J virgates, being reduced to 15 hides in 1086. There was land for 30 and a half plough teams, 18 beiDg in demesne. The villeins on the various manors numbered 36, the borderers 56, and the serfs 24. Seven mills valued at £1 5s. 7d., a salt pan, and f a fishery for the hall " situated at Prestiton, are also mentioned in the survey.

It may be inferred from the facts contained in the Domes- day Record that William Fitz Stur remained in the Island, and took over the management of his newly acquired estates. Of the thirteen freemen holding lands from the Confessor before the Conquest, only two were fortunate enough to weather the storm and. continue in possession under the changed ownership in 1086. Juran, one of these two, held a hide of land at Ulwarcumbe, in Shorwell,andthe other, Tovi, had a smaller estate at Alverston, in Brading, having been dis- possessed of two estates he had previously held at Binstead and Periton in the same locality. The other holdings were in the king's hand at the time of the Domesday Survey. William, the son of Stur, was also a " farmer " of four royal manors and 232 sufficiently wealthy as a land speculator to pay the then large sum of sixty pounds for them. The Commissioners call attention to the fact, and remark that " they are not worth so much." In Domesday they stand valued at twenty- eight pounds. The manors in question were , in Carisbrook—a valuable estate which had belonged to the Confessor, and where, later still, the chief seat of " the lord of the island" was situated; Heldelie (?) ; Lymerston, in Brixton ; and Shide, near Newport. He also held lands at Christchurch and at King's Somborne on the mainland, and was, moreover, entitled to the dues of two houses in South- ampton by grant of King William. Very little further in- formation of him is on record. From a document having reference to the family estates situated in Normandy, to which allusion will be made later, it seems probable that he was dead by, or before, i TOO, and only a conjecture can be made as to his age. That he had attained to mature age by 1066 is more than probable. He was the father of, at least, three sons, and also of a daughter who married Hugh Gurnon or Vernon, having as her marriage dower the manor of Chale, and probably that of Gpditon—classed earlier in the Domes: day Book among the large possessions of William Fitz Stur, and rated at one hide. The estate is found early in the twelfth century in Gurnon's possession. Chale Church was founded by him, being consecrated in December 1114, and having assigned as an endowment " a moiety of the glebe land and tithes of burials and oblations, excepting those of his own house."1 The names of the three sons are given in a " Calendar of Documents " relating to the French Abbey of Marmoutier.'It notifies that" Hugh de Insula, son of William, son of Stur of the Isle of Wight (Guitti), gave St. Martin of Marmoutier, and his monks the tithe of the mill of Torlavilla8, which he held of the Count of Normandy by hereditary right'in the sight and with the .consent of his brothers, Rotger and Gervaise, for which Ralph, the prior, gave him in love a certain mule, which he gave his brother Rotger who was about to go to Rome."

1 The manor passed by a later marriage to the " De Langfords," the heirs of Richard de Langford holding one Knight's fee in 1263. Inq. p.m. 47, Hen. 111. 9 Torlaville is situated two miles to the east of Cherbourg. 233 The date of the deed is about i ipo. No further definite history of the brothers is forthcoming. Rodger may be identified with " Roger del Estre" who came over from Normandy in the following of Richard de Redvers as one of his barons, and who gave, at the earl's solicitation, his manors of Apse, Hamstead and Prestiton to the canons of Christchurch, Twyneham, between noo and 1107—holdings included earlier in the Stur estates, and which presumably devolved to him on the death of his father William, son of Stur. As " Roger Lestra," he was a witness to the charter of Richard de Redvers, and was also possibly the " Rogerius de Insula," who attested the charter of Henry I. addressed to the abbey of Lire on 1st December, noo.1 The names of other members of the " Stur " family occur in the records ot the period; but their degree of relationship is not yet established. Such are :— (a) " Robert Estur," of the Isle of Wight. His name occurs, associated with that of his son, in the following document :—" Richard de Rethvers (de Redvers) had been invested with the seigniory and demesnes of the Isle of Wight by Henry I., in the beginning of his reign, and from that time the surnames of the feudatories who held of the Honour point to the C6tentin as their parent country. From the like connection William, son of Robert Estur, of the Isle of Wight, became a feudatory of Engelger de Bohun in the C6tentin, where with the consent of his lord, he gave to the Abbey of Montebburg the Chapel of Thieville and certain tenements in the parish."2 He is presumably the " Robertus de Insula " mentioned in the Pipe Roll of 1131, as owing five marks for the land which " Ulrica de Stantona "held. (b) " Jordan del Estre." The earliest reference to him is as attesting - witness to the grant made by Richard de Redvers (d. 1107) to the canons of Ghristchurch. He also witnessed Roger del Estres' grant of Apse manor to the same foundation, and, since an anniversary was observed in pious memory of "Jordan de l'lsle," it is more than probable he was himself a donor to the Abbey. 1 " Calendar of Documents." France, p; 195. a Rotuli Scaccarii Normannice—by Thomas Stapleton. Vol. 1, p. xzvii., f. ^34 A' question naturally suggests itself as to the possible relationship of Jordan to the De Insula family, of Wodyton. It will have been noticed how indifferently the alternative surnames of " Estur," «' del Estra," " Lestra," de l'Isle, have been used in the foregoing references. In the chartulary of Christchurch, Jordan is named "Jordan de l'lsle," and a problem of considerable interest arises, viz., was Jordan, by a marriage with a daughter of Fitz-Azor parentage, the pro- genitor of the De Insula family, of Wodyton. W. .Berry, in his County Pedigrees (Hants, p. 173-176), gives a pedigree of the Lisles from Jordan de Insula, in the time of Henry I., showing a descent of the De Esturs, of Gatcombe, from Jordan. Many of the details are obviously wrong, however, as shown by a later re-search work. The pedigree gives a copy of the arms, &c, as follows :—•

ARMS—Or, on a chief ax. three lions, rampant, of the field. CREST—A stag sialant ar, attired or.

JORDAN DE INSULA, = HAWISE. time of King Henry the First and King Stephen.

GEOFFREY DE INSULA,: gave lands in franc almoine for the soul of Earl Baldwin, of Devonshire.

I WALTER DE INSULA, = MARGARET. JORDAN DE INSULA. of the time of King John.

I I GILBERT DE INSULA, BALDWIN DE INSULA, GEOFFKEY HENRY DE INSULA, slew Godfrey, son Lord of Wodoton DE Lord of W hippingham of William de Bray, and Pluuipton, in' INSULA,= in Co Devon, in the Pat. 44 Henry in. the Isle of Wight, time of Henry in. m 11. lived in the time of Henry in. I TORDAN DE INSULA, WILLIAM DE INSULA,: a Baron in the time of • Lord of Gatcombe, Edward i., and Gover- in the Isle of Wight, nor of in the time of Castlet ob, 32 Edw. z Edward i.

BALDWIN DE INSULA, of Gatcombe, afore- said. ob. 1 Edward n. 235 From this degression the further descent of the Stur family may be resumed. A.D. 1086—1131—No deed or charter, now extant, sheds any light on the disposition of the De Estur estates during the interval, 1100—1131. During the time when the lordship of the Island was held in abeyance—1075 to 1101—few deeds of importance were executed, hence the absence of docu- mentary evidence during the earlier part of the interregnum. Large confiscations of land are said, by Hillier, to have taken place.1 "Of the names mentioned in Domesday," he says, " that of Stur (de Estur) only is afterwards recognised." In fact a greater change in this respect seems to have followed the coming of the De Redvers than that which was due to the coming of William Fitz Osberne. In the list of named sons, a very noticeable omission is that of the name of William. From the foregoing facts it is more than probable that, in the absence of all evidence to the contrary, the " William, son of Stur," attesting the foundation charter of , A.D. 1131, had possession of the Island estates during these years. A somewhat similar disposition of pro- perties at this time can be instanced. On the death of William Fitz Osberne, the first Lord of the Island, in 1070, his Norman estates passed to his eldest son. Ralph, the second son, was a monk at Cormeilles, and Roger, Earl of Hereford, the third son, succeeded to the English estates. His witnessing the single charter I have^.mentioned, is the only documentary evidence before us. To be thus included in the list of signatures on such a notable occasion, William, son of Stur, must have been of mature age, and he must have then attained an established position amongst the resident island landowners. The date of his death is not forthcoming. . A.D. 1131—1156—Following upon the foundation of Quarr, Baldwin de Redvers took part, with the Empress Maud, in the rebellion against the King, and, later in consequence, suffered banishment from the Island for the twenty years, 1136—1155. A crown official had charge of the Wight, and it is only towards the close of the interregnum, that evidence is given that the William, son of Stur, was in occupancy of the estates. 1 Hillier " History of the Isle of Wight,'.' p. 75. .236

A.D. 1156—1189—William, son of Stur, attests (a) the " Carta Fundationis," &c, of Richard, Earl of Devon, circa 11561; (b) Hugo de Witville's charter,2 circa 1158; (cj the Newport Charter, between 1177—1184; (d) the Wellow Charter of William de Vernon,8 between 1184—89. This deed is signed conjointly with his son, and following upon the attestation of the Countess Mabilia, William, the son of Stur, is the first witness attesting the Charter granted to the monks of Lyra. A.D. 1189—1206—William, son and heir, succeeds and attests (a) a second de Vernon Charter* (granted almost certainly before 1199) of two islands near Christchurch, to Quarr ; also (b) one whereby '-' William de Redvers, Earl of Devon," in frank almoin granted to the Canons of Christ- church the giftswhich Baldwin, his father, and Richard, his brother, made to them, to wit (inter alia) the land of Freske- water, Debburne, and Hapsa, &c, &c.; (c) a Charter" of William de Vernon to the Abbey of Montebourg, circa 1196 ; (d) a deed6 of Walter de Insula, of Wootton, granting land on the side of St. Boniface Down, to Quarr. The date of the Charter is a disputed one, since it has been assigned to a period between 1200 and 1217, but in Mr. Hue's opinion, based on a close scrutiny of the several names of witnesses attesting this and other Charters of the period, the date is circa 1200, and possibly before 1196, and in this conclusion I fully concur ; (e) circa 1196, a. confirmation of the grant of Ouvelay, co. Berks, to. the Abbey of Montebourg. This man is, no doubt the "Will. Estour,"7 who gives, prior to 1200, a Charter to Christchurch, witnessed to. by " Earl William de Vernon and William, his son," who died prior to the year 1200. Mention is made at this time of a " Richard del Estra," but his relationship to the De Estur family of the Isle of Wight, is uncertain. He is more directly identified with the manor of , in a Charter* of " Alwarie de Newton, vel Niton," granting land to Quarr Abbey. Richard del Estre 1 Worsley, Appendix 51. a Ibid '59. • Ibid 65. • Ibid 66. * "Calendar of Documents." France, p. 93. • Worsley, Appendix No. 64. ' Hillier " History of Isle of Wight," p. 77. 8 Worsley, Appendix No, 67. 237 gives a mark's worth of land to the same monastery circa 1161. It can be shown that he was also possessed of lands in Dorset and Somerset. A.D. 1206—1224—During this interval no documentary reference is made in any known deeds to the disposition of the De Estur estates, and it is only at the close of the inter- regnum that evidence is forthcoming of Baldwin de Estur's being in possession. 8 Hen. 1st (1224)—" De terra de Gatecomb—Commisit supradicto [Waleramo] dominus Rex tot am terram quae fuit Baldwini filii Esturi, in Gatecomb, cujus custodia in manu domini Regis est &c. Mandatum est vicecomiti Sutht' quod de tota terra quod fuit predicti Baldewini in Gatecumb cum filia et herede ipsius eundem Waleramum plenam seisinam habere faciat. Teste Rege apud Bristolliam xii die March."1 Walerand, the Teuton, was a landholder in Hants, Wilts, and Dorset, and had supervision of the lands appertaining to the Lordship of the Island 1217—1224.,2 and was in charge of the bailwick of the Isle of Wight, January 6th, 1225. There is no evidence on record to show if Baldwin was an only son, or, if he succeeded to the estates on the demise of an elder brother, having the patronymic surname of William ; but a strong inference can be drawn that such was the case, the familiar name reappearing in the next generation. An entry in the Fine Rolls states that the custody of the daughter and heiress, of Baldwin, was granted to Geoffrey de Insula, of Wodyton, A.D. 1224. 1 Rot. Fitiium, 8 Henry III. (1224). Vol. I, p. 112, ed. Roberts. " Woodward and Wilks, " Hampshire," vol. 3, p. 143. SCHEME SHOWING A CONJECTURAL DESCENT OF THE DE ESTUR FAMILY. (1066—1224). William, son of Stur—"de Insula Guitti"—came from Normandy to the Isle of Wight in 1066, probably then of mature age. In 1086 holds 21 manors (Domesday Book). No recorded evidence of existence later. Probably dead by or before 1100, leaving issue three named sons and a daughter.

I 1100-31 WILLIAM, son of Stur. HUGH, of the Isle," GERVASE. ROGER—probably the DAUGHTER. ROBERT ESTUR, "of JORDAN DEL ESTRE, Conjecturally re- son of Stur, gives the.Rogerdel Estre, Has Manor of Chale the Isle of Wight." who is a witness to garded as holding tithe of mill, etc.; Consents to who gives Apse as dower. (Estates not men- Roger del Estre's Island estates, after c 1100, his brothers Manor to Christ- tioned). Pipe Rolls, grant of Apse Manor. his father's demise, Gervase and Rodger his brothers' Church. c 1101-1107. 31 Henry i. His 1101—7, and a donor from 1109—1131. A assenting thereto. A follower of Rich. Hugh Gurnon, in - son, William, gives of land to Christ- witness to founda- Query — Hugh of gift. de Red vers, Earl of possession of Chale •lands, etc., at Thie- Church. Anniver- tion ch. Ouarr Abbey Shonvell,ch.No.53. Devon. early 12th century* ville, 1172. sary observed in 1131. "pious memory" of v Jordan de. l'lsle. Possibly, by mar- riage with a dr. of Fitz Azor parentage. the ancestor of the Dc Insula family, of V Wodyton, etc. 1156-84 WILLIAM, son of Stur, attests charters be- tween 1156-1184. Is the " Willielmus - Actual relationship to Stur Family not films Stur "who wit- established. nesses. 1184-1189, the Wellow ch. with his son.

1184-1200 WILLIAM, son of= Stur, the" Willelmus Alius ejus" of ch. No. 65, to Quarr Abbey. Attests ch. between 1184 & 1200. Is the "Willielmus Alius Stur" of ch. No. 64, who attests with his son jointly.

1200-24 WILLIAM, son of Stur, BALDWIN DE ESTUR, = the "Willemus filius ob. 1224, leaving a • ejus" qf ch. No. 64, daughter, heiress to of Walter de Insula, the Stur Estates. to Quarr Abbey. A brother of Baldwin de Estur, died leav- ing no issue.

LADY MATILDA DE ESTUR, of Gat , etc. 239 A.D. 1224—1280—Lady Matilda de Estour was born some- time between, the years 1203—1224, and probably during the earlier years. She married Walter de Insula, son of Geoffrey, of Wootton. Her husband was a knight 1253, in which year he and his- wife contested the right to the presentation of Brading Church. Sir Walter was probably dead by 1263, in which year his wife, and not he, appears in the list of tenants. in chief holding of the Castle of Caresbrok.1 Seventeen years later (1280) in a return of the knights' fees belonging to Carisbiooke Castle, there is entered:—" Lady Matilda le Estour, • Lady of Gatecomb, holds of the same Countess (Isabella de Fortibus) in capite, five fees, whence the same holds in demesne, the manors of Gatecomb, Whitewell, and Caulbourn, which William de Estur, son and heir of the same, holds of her gift." And following the notice a list of tenants holding from her, seventeen in number, is given. For some three centuries the residence of the De Esturs was at Gatcombe, which estate is entered in the Domesday Book. " The same William holds Gatcome." From the earliest times this holding, comprised the manors of Gat- combe, Whitwell, and Calborne, held in parage by three brothers of King Edward the Confessor, each having " a hall." This would now be called the manor house, shown by Mr. Ballardaand Professor Maitland8to be essential to the existence of the manor, as the place where the geld is demanded or paid. By her marriage, Lady Matilda had issue, three sons, viz.: William, who succeeded; Geoffrey de Insula, holding the fourth part of a fee, in Merston and Sulende, formerly held by Robert de Giros as a tenant of Lady Matilda; and John de Insula, Rector of , as such being a witness to Isabella de Fortibus's"Charter of 1272. He was a co-founder of Barton Oratory, in 1275, and later, probably, was Rector of Arreton. In a Patent Roll, 10th September, 1285, " Master Adam de Hales, parson of the Church of Godeshull, acknowledges that he owes to John de Insula, parson of the Church of Arreton, 40 marks to be levied, &c." The date of Lady Matilda's death is nowhere stated. • Inquisition held on the death of Baldwin de Redvers. 47 Henry III. * Domesday Inquest, p. 50. ' Domesday Book andieyond, p. log. 240

A.D. 1210—1292—Sir William le Estur, of Gatcombe, was born in or before 1240, was a knight soon after 1263, when he attested, the charter of the Countess Isabella, Lady of the Isle, to the burghers of Newport, also a further deed1 dated Carisbrok, at the Feast of the Purification, A.D. 1272, giving lands at Freshwater, andelsewhere, to the Canons of Christchurch " to pray for the soul of William de Fortibus and for those of William and Thomas, her sons." He married Agnes, whose surname is nowhere mentioned, having no issue by her. This fact, contrary to a generally received opinion, is set forth in a deed.2 Sir William died in 1292, the writ "ad diem clausit 'extremum," was issued November 12th.8 The inquisition.post- mortem is contained in the four volumes4 published by the Record Commission, circa 1812. His wife survived him and is named, in conjunction with Henry de Cumpton, an executor of his will.

In a Close Roll6 for the year 1292 is entered to the escheator :—" Order to cause dower to be assigned to Agnes, late the wife of William le Estur, tenant in chief, upon her taking oath not to marry without the King's licence." Two year's later, in the same Rolls, there is given a further notice to the effect:—" To . . . escheator. Order to cause dower to be assigned to Agnes, late the wife of William le Estur, tenant in chief, from the Knight's fees that belonged to William's heir if he wished'to be present." Reference to the wife's dower is made in another Roll, Feb. 28th, 1299 :— " The manor of Kauleburn held in free marriage, and the manor of Whitewell, in dower." Charter Rolls. '• a"Calend. Geneabgicum" by Charles Roberts. .Vol. 2, p. 568. "Matilda de Gadecombe dedit dicto Willielmo le Estur filio et haeredo suo et dicta: Agneti in libera marilagio manerium de Kauleborne tenendum sibi et hseredibus de corpore eorum procreatis de przedicta Matilda .... Praedictum manerium debet reverti ad Baldwinum filium et hasredem Galfridi de Insula fratris et haeredis prasdicti Willelmi le Estur si quod idem Willielmus et Agnes prsedicti obierunt sine hscredibus de corpore eorum procreatis." •Rot. Finium, 20-Edw. I. "Calendar, Inq. P.M. Vol. I, p. 3. •Rot. Finium, 21 Edw. I. 6" British Museum,!' 1288—1296. 241

On her death, in the year 1299, the Royal mandate to the escheator to take possession follows1. A.D. 1293—4—Geoffrey de Insula, the brother of Sir William, succeeded to the estates-3 He did homage for the estates, January 14th, 1293, and since, hitherto, considerable difficulty has existed in regard to the succession, I will give the excerpt from the Fine Rolls:—"Rex cepit homagium Galfridi de Insula, fratris et heredis Willi de Esturs defuncti, de omni- bus terris et tenementis quae idem Willelmus, frater suus, tenuit de Rege in capite die quo obiit, et ei terras illas et tenementa Rex reddidit. Et ideo mandatum est Malculino de Harleye, esceatori ultra Trentam, quod, accepta securitate a praefato Galfrido. . . de omnibus terris et tenementis praedictis, et de quibus praedictus Willelmus fuit seisitus in dominico suo ut de feodo in balliva sua die quo obiit, et quae occasione mortis ejusdem capta sunt in manum Regis, plenam seisinam habere faciat, salvo jure cujuslibet. Teste Rege apud Merington, xiiij die Jan."8 TRANSLATION.—The King has received the homage of Geoffrey, brother and heir, of William de Estur, deceased, for all the lands and tenements which the said William, his brother, held of the King in chief on the day that he died ; and the King has restored to him those lands and tenements. And'it is commanded to Malcolm de Harleye, escheator beyond the Trent, that he receives security from the aforesaid Geoffrey, and that he should give, in the aforesaid manner, to the said Geoffrey, full seisin of the aforesaid lands and tenements which the said William was seized in his demesne as of the fee, in his bailiwick, on the day that he died, and which were taken into the King's hands by reason of his death. Witnessed by the King, at Merington, on the 14th day of January. A charter4 of Isabella de Fortibus, dated Karesbroke, 19th January, 1292, "granting to the Canons of Christ-Church the tithe of all her rabbits in her manor of Thornle," is witnessed by him, and, he also attests the countess's charter to Newport.' His tenure of the estates was a brief one, since he died in the autumn of 1293. The writ to the escheator, to take possession, was issued on the 36th October."5 The Inquisition was held, 16th Nov. 1293.6 He had been 'Rot. Finium, 27. Edw. I. The inquisition post mortem is given in the Record Commission Publications, circa 1812.- "Ihquisitiones Post mortem. Record Commission, publ. 1865. •Rot. Finium, 20, Edw. I. 4Chartei Rolls, vol. 3, No. vi. Record Office. "Rot. Finium; 2r; Edw. I. Record Office. 6Inq. p.m., 22, Edw. I.; No. 32. 242 -'

married to Isolda de Albemarlia, whose name is mentioned in the " Calendarium Genealogicum."1 Baldwin de Insula de Gatcombe, A.D. 1294—1307, son and heir .of Geoffrey, next had possession." He did homage in the usual terms.8 On the death of Agnes, relict of Sir William de Estur, in 1296, there is an order entered in the Close Roll,4 28th February, to the escheator, Walter of Gloucester:—•" not to intermeddle with the manors of Kaulcburn and Whitwell, and to deliver them to Baldwin, son and heir of Geoffrey de Insula, if they have been taken into the King's hands solely by reason of the death of Agnes, late the wife of William le 'Estur, as it appears to the King by inspection of the Rolls of Chancery that Baldwin did • homage to him for all the lands that his father held at his death of the King in chief, and it is found, by an inquisition, by the escheator, concerning the lands that belonged to Agnes, that she held, at her death, the manor of Kauleburn in free marriage and the manor of Whitwell, in dower, of Baldwin's inheritance, and that, they ought to revert to Baldwin, by right of inheritance, as Geoffrey's . son and heir after her death." A month later, in the same Rolls, after a recitation of the last entry, there is added:—'•' The King wishing to show Baldwin special favour, orders the escheator to deliver to him the issues received from the manor of Whytewell from the time when it was taken into the King's hands." He married Joan (surname unknown), and died 1307, leaving an only son to inherit. The writ to the escheator to take possession is dated, August 22nd, and is couched in the usual terms.6 The Inquisition,6following on his death, was held at Southampton on the 14th of the following month:— " Baldwin de Insula, Gatcombe. The manor (extent given) held of the King in chief by service of one Knight's fee, as of the Castle of Karesbrouk, now in the King's hands. Whytewelle. The manor (extent given) held of the King in chief by service of

1 Calendarium Genealogicum. Vol. I, p. 22. *Calend. Genealogicum, by Charles Roberts. Publ. 1865. "Rot. Finium, 22, Edw. I. Record Office. •British Museum. 1296—1302. "Rot, Finium, 1 Edw. II. Record Office. •" Calendar of Inquisitions." Publ. 1904. 243 J Knight's fee, as of the Castle of Karesbrouk. Caulbourn. The manor (extent given) held, &c, by service of i Knight's fee, &c. "John, his son, aged 4 on the Feast of the Purification last, is his next heir." An entry in a Close Roll,1 15th October, 1307, Northamp- ton, refers to his wife's dower :—" To Walter de Gloucestre, &c. Order to deliver to Joan, late the wife, &c, the manor of Whitewell, in the Isle of Wight, of the yearly value of £11 18s. od., ten acres of underwood in the manor of Caulburn, in the same county, of the yearly value of 4s., and 42s. 2d. of yearly rent, to be received by the hands of seven free tenants of the same manor of Caulburn; which the King has assigned to her as dower, upon condition that she render to Robert de Hanstede, the younger, to whom the King has granted the custody of the lands of the said Baldwin during the minority of his heir, the yearly " sum of 23d., which sum represents the excess of her dower according to the extent. Two years later another reference to Joan is made should she marry again :—" 1309, March 9th, Langley. Grant to Roger Sandan of the marriage of Joan, late the wife of Baldwyn de Insula, tenant in chief, or, of any for- feiture incurred by. her by marrying without licence." A.D. 1307—1338—Sir John de Lisle, Knight, of Gatcombe, son and heir, was a minor when his father died.2 A grant of Free Warren by Edward II.8 led to local disturbances, for in the Patent Rolls we find:—" West- minster, 2nd March, 1309. Commission of Oyer and Terminer to John de Foxle and John de Batesford on com- plaint by Robert de Hanstede, the younger, that Ralph de Gorges and other persons forcibly entered the manor of Gatecumbe, in the Isle of Wight, the custody of which had been granted to him during the minority of the heirs of Baldewyn de Insula, wrecked the doors of the houses; carried away his goods and hay; took the rabbits in the several wood and garden of the manor and felled the trees."

•Close Rolls. British Mus. 1307—1313. •CI. Patent Rolls. Sept. 6th, Sept. nth, Nov. 2ist, 1307. •Charter Rolls. 13th Nov. 1308. '244 Some six months later, 1309, September gth, "Walter Fynamour came before the King on Tuesday next, after the Nativity of the Virgin, and sought to replevy to John, son and heir of Baldwin de Insula, the land of the 'said John, in Gatecumbe and Caulburne, taken into the King's hands for the default that Robert de Hanstead, guardian of-the land and heir aforesaid, made before the Justices of the Bench.1 John de Insula attained his majority in September, 1224, but it is not until February 17th, 1329, that any reference to him occurs:—" To Simon de Bereford, escheator, &c. Order not to destrain John de Insula for his homage and fealty for the lands that he holds of the King, as the King has taken his homage and fealty."2 Four months later there is mention made in the Close Rolls8 of his being married :—" May 8th, 1329. Order to Simon de Bereford, escheator, &c, not to intermeddle further with a moiety of the manor of Strete, co. Kent, and to restore to John de Insula and Joan, his wife, &c." ' A further notice,* having reference to his homage, is found eighteen months later :—1330, Nov. 30th. " Writ to Robert Selyman, escheator this side Trent, not to destrain John de Insula, son of Baldwin de Insula Vecta, for homage and fealty for his father's lands, as he . has done homage and fealty to the King."' Sir John died 1337. In the Abbreviation of Original Rolls,8 a notice of the writ to the escheator is entered. The heir was a minor, and the custody of the lands and tenements was given to the Archbishop of Canterbury.6 In the Patent Rolls' is entered a reference of a similar nature :—" 1337, November 5th. Grant to John, Archbishop of Canterbury, who has satisfied the King for what pertains to him for the custody and marriage of the heir of John de. Insula, of Gatectimbe, lately granted to the Archbishop, by letters patent, and has, by his order, paid that money for the furtherance of certain business that he shall retain the custody, 1Close Rolls. 1307 -1313. "Ibid. 1327—1330* •British Museum. 1327—1330. 4Close Rolls. 1330—1333. •Abbrev. Rotul. Original. ' Record Commission. Vol. 2., p. 117. 'Abbrevatio Rotulorum Origmalium, .Record Commission. Vol. 3, p. 116 •'British-Museum. 1334—1338. :24.5 with- the Knight's fees, advowsons- of churches,- and other appurtenances, during the minority of the heir and the marriage of the heir . . . without rendering anything." Given at Thame, November 5th, 1337. Under the same date, entered in the Close Rolls,1 is an acknowledgment:—" 1337, November 5th. Joan, late the wife of John . de Insula, of Gateciimbe, and John de Glamorgan, John de Kyngeston, John de Heyno, Knights; William Passelewe, Robert de Insula, Thomas le Vavasour acknowledge that they owe to John, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, 800 marks to be levied,. &c. .... co. Southampton. Master John de Langetoft, clerk, received the acknowledgement by writ, dedimus potestam, which is on the files of this year. Cancelled on payment." The following excerpt from the Close Rolls2 has reference to the widow's dower :—" 1338, March 12th. To William . Trussel, escheator this side Trent. Order to deliver' and assign the manors of Whitewell and Cawelbourn, co. South- ampton, and 114s, 5£d., yearly rent, in the manor of Gate- coumbe, to Joan, late the wife of John de Insula, of Gate- coumbe, tenant in chief, as her dower, upon her taking oath that she will not rriarry without the King's consent, as the King has assigned to her with" the assent of John, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom he committed the custody of John's lands to hold until the heir should come of a'ge, under a certain ferm, the following lands, to wit : the manor o'f Whitewell extended at ^"36 10s. 5|d. yearly, the manor of Cawelbourn extended at ^15 11s. 4^d. yearly and the said rent." Some two years later in the Patent Rolls is entered:— " 1340, September 5th. Pardon to Henry Romyn and Joan, late the wife of John del Isle, of Gatecombe, tenant in chief, for intermarrying without licence." A.D. 1338—1349-50—John (2) de Lisle, of Gatcombe, son and heir, was next in succession, and of him little is known. His name appears in the Subsidy Roll,. 21, Edward III., 1346, " aid for knighting the King's eldest son." He married . 1British Museum. 1333—1337. 'British Museum. '1337—-l'339- .' -- "246

Joan, daughter of Sir John de Bohun, Knight, leaving issue by her a son and two daughters. He died in 1349.1 The Close Rolls (1349—54) have a notice of the dower 1349.. Enrolment of assignment of dower to Joan, late the wife of John del Isle of Gatcombe, made by William de Ryngebourn, escheator in the Isle of Wight, in the presence of Henry de Greystok, steward of the King's chamber, on 24th September,. 23,- Edward III., in the manor of Gate- combe, a low chamber at the west head of the hall, another small chamber at the east head of the same hall, with upper chamber and chimney, and called " la Noricerye;" another house disposed for a kitchen, with dairy annexed, under one roof; another house containing a wash-house and larder house ; a wine press house ; also a house called the Chamber of the Squires; a third part of a grange, to wit from the innpr beam towards the limit; a grange called " le Estbern;" a third part of the issue of a dovecote; a third part of a plot within the court where the houses were lately burned, to wit burned from the west head of la Uppebern, continuing by the ash trees hear the dovecote, to the hay above; a certain garden called ". le Uppegardyn" entire; a small cutilage behind the dairy, house for cultivating vegetables ; free way to the' water well as often as necessary, and also to all the places assigned to her ; a third part of the issues of the fish ponds in the manor; a third part of the issues of the fishery of the water of Pydeford ; a third part of the ancient garden in the east part, thereof, as divided by the bounds; a certain croft. called " la Longemede ;" another meadow called " la Whitemede ;" a piece of meadow on the south part of the way leading from Faselham towards Somersburgh, a piece of arable land in the croft without the gate on the south part, thereof, as shown by certain bounds; a piece of arable land near the way leading to la Chute, another piece of arable land near les Berghes; a plot of arable land called " Everlond," entire, a parcel of arable land in la Comte on the north side, thereof, near the sheepfold as divided by certain bounds; another piece' of arable land called " la Fisacres," with' a house there which lately belonged to John Hachard, assigned for a sheepfold; another piece of land

»Inq. p.m., 1349. 247 called " le Shorteferlong ;" a plot of land on the west part of Waltf r le Couk, entire to le Greyneweye; a parcel of land called " Reyneldes-croft" entire; a piece of land called " leNorthcroft;" a parcel of pasture called " Onyesdpune " entire, except a plot reserved to this lord for depositing refuse ; a third part of a pasture upon Vytelhull with a third part of moor, willows, brake, and violet there; a third part of pa'sture upon the hills of L'angedon, Hethietout, and Brete- combe; the whole wood oiled " la WestwodeJ" with wood of Herdewegh in the south part of " la Rondeweye," with all the sport and warren therein, a third part of the mills of the manor; the rents and services of the following bondmen, Isabel atte Shute, Margery Gippes, John Hurlebat, Philip de Snotedon, Geoffrey Portesy, Robert Girpe, and Thomas le Short; a third part of the rent and service of the land which lately belonged to Walter de Bretecoinbe ; a third part of the rents and services of all free tenants of the manor with with ward, marriage, relief, heriot, perquisites of court and other profits; a third part of the bondmen of the manor owing capitage with.their services; a third turn of conferring the Church of Gatecombe, when void ; also in the manor of Chesthull there is assigned to her a third part of the site of the court there as divided by bounds; a third part of the issues of the dovecote there, a third part of the arable land, arid a third part of the pasture as lie in the east part of the fields there; marked by certain bounds; a third part of the rents and services of all tenants of the manor, both free and bond, with a third part of the heriots, wards, marriages reliefs, fines, perquisites of court, and other profits of the manor. Dated at Gatecombe as aforesaid.

In the " Abbreviation of Original Rolls " (Vol. n., p. 202), the custody of the manors of Lordyngton and Compton were given her. In the Patent Rolls,1 under the date 14th. February, 1352, is entered:—" Grant, at the request of Guy de Bryan, to Joan, late the wife of John del Isle, of Gatcombe, who holds at farm of the King, the manor .of Lurdyngton, for £10, to be rendered in the King's wardrobe yearly, that she shall hold •British Museum. Edw. III. 135a—1354. 248 the manor without rendering anything in recompense of the sustenance of John, son and heir of the said John a minor, whose marriage pertains to the King, while the heir stays in her keeping unmarried." A.D. 1349—1369—John (3) de Lisle, of Gatcombe, was a minor when his father died. The proof of age was taken at Midhurst, on the morrow of St. Leonard (Nov. 7th), 37, Edward III.:—" The depondents. say he was born at Le Coudrey, in the parish of Easeburn, and baptised in the church of St. Mary there, on the day of St. Leonard, Nov. 6th, twenty-one years ago. Edward, son of John Le Bohun, Richard Lexman, and Cecilia, wife of Sir John le Bohun, Knight, were his sponsors."1 In the second volume of the " Original Rolls," published by the Record Commission, a record is preserved which shows that the guardianship of the estate during the minority was entrusted to the young heir's mother and maternal grandfather, John de Bohun.1 John (3) de Lisle, vel de Insula, only lived till 1369,° and is stated to have left no male issue at his .death. His sister Elizabeth, however, was married to John Bramshott, and Eva, a younger sister, to Sir John Burford. These ultimately became his co-heiresses.4 Despite the widely received opinion that on the death.of John de Lisle in the year 1369-70 his estates devolved to his two sisters, there is other evidence on record to show that the Lisle family continued to hold the Gatcombe and the other allied estates for a good many years after his decease. Documents preserved in the Manuscript Department of the British Museum6 furnish an extract. The purport of this is the. receipt from Ralph Wolverton, of forty shillings a year from the farm of the manor of Gatcombe, &c, lately in the hands of Ingleram de Coucy, late Earl of Bedford, and Lady Isabella, his wife, by reason of the minority of Thomas, son and heir of Laur. de Lisle, the ward, and marriage of which Thomas were sold to the said Ralph by Ingleram and Isabella for a certain sum paid to their hands before the 1 Sussex Archceol. Coll. Vol. 12, p. 32. a Rot. Original. Edw. III. • Col. Inq. p.m., Vol. *. 4 Sussex Arch. Collec. Vol. 12, p. 32. ' "Typographical Catalogue. II Rich. II.' 249 forfeiture of the said Ingelram. To hold, &c, from the day when the said Ingelram forfeited, up to the legal age of the said heir .by paying yearly to the said Castle of Carisbrok, &c, the said forty shillings on the feasts, &c, &c." The relationship of Lawrence Lisle to the last male heir is, so far, unknown. Inferentially it is probably that he was-his uncle, and of influence in the island, for under date June, 1372, " the king appoints Lawrence Lisle, the Abbott of- Quafr, and Ralph de Wolverton, wardens of the coast of the Isle of Wight." His wife's name was Isabel, who, has shown by documentary evidence, survived her husband several years. A petition (in French) temp. Henry IV. is presented. . " To the very excellent and very dread lord the king," by his lieges John Bramshate and Elizabeth, his wife . . . to grant them a special assize of novel disseisin against Isabel, who had been wife of Lawrence de Lisle, and Thomas, his son, of a disseisin done by them to .the said suppliants of their free tenement in Gatcombe, in the Isle of Wight, &C."1 The meaning of the document is clear, it is evident that John Bramshott in right of his wife Elizabeth, sister and co- heir of the last. John de Lisle (who died s.p.) claimed Gatcombe as next heir, and that Lawrence de Lisle and afterwards his widow, Isabel, and Thomas, his son (as heirs male of Lisle, of Gatcombe, no doubt), had claimed it also and had dispossessed Bramshott, who petitions for a writ of novel disseisin against them. The following pedigree may be deduced:— (1) Lauvence de Lisle, apparently of Gatcombe, dead 1388. (2) Thowas de Lisle, of Gatcornbe manor, in ward to Ingelram de Coucy, under age in 1393. (3) J°hn Lisle, presumably his son, as shown by the Subsidy Rolls (B.Mus., 173, 75). In a later Roll, 1431, it is stated that:—" Johann Lisle de Calbourne, gentilman, seisitus fuit ut de libera tenemento in Caul- bourne in dicta insula." 1Stowe Manuscripts No. 541, f logc, No. 72, Br. dues. 259

There is no further documentary evidence forthcoming, and presumably at his death he left no issue to succeed, the estates passing to John Bramshott, of Bramshott, co. Hants,- the grandson of John Bramshott, who married Elizabeth, sister of John (3) de Lisle.

Pedigree of the De Estur and De Lisle family from A.D. 1224 to A.D. 1369-70.

LADY MATILDA DE ESTUR,= =WALTER, son of Geoffrey de of Gatcdmbe—living 1280 Insula, of Wodyton, Isle —date of decease nowhere of-Wight, a Knight, 1253— given. dead by 1263.

WILLIAM LE ESTUR,=AGNES. GEOFFREY DE INSULA,: : ISOLDA DE JOHN- DE INSULA, KNT., son and heir, ob. 1299. (heir to his brother), ALBEHARLIA, Rector of Shalfleet, ob. November 1292. ' Inq. p.m. 27 did homage January co. founder of Bar- Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. i. Edw. i. 1293. ob. October ton Oratory. 1293. Inq. p.m. Nov. 16, 22 Edw. i.

BALDWIN DE INSULA,=JOAN. age 23 when his (Close Rolls Br. father died. Did Mus.) homage, 2 Dec. 22 Edw. i. ob. 1307. Inq. p.m. Sept. 1. Edw. ii.

SIR JOHN DE INSULA, KNT., son=JOAN.= (2) HENRY ROMYN. and heir, aged 4, escheat 1307. (Close (see Patent Rolls, ob. 1337. Inq. p.m. 11 Edw. m. Rolls. • Sept. 1840). Br. Mus. 1337—39).

JOHN (2) D E LISLE, son and heir.=JoAN, daughter of - ob. 1349. Inq. p.m. 22 Edw. m. . I .Sir John de Bohun, Knt.

I JOHN DE LISLE (3), son= ELIZABETH.=JoHN BRAMSHOTT, of EVA. =SIR JOHN and heir, born, 16 .Bramshott, Co. Hants - BUKFOKD Edw. in: ob. 1369. —living in 1377. (Wor- Inq. p.m. 43 Edw. m. sley App. 70).

A quo the Bramshotts of Gatcombe

LAURENCE LISLE, apparently ' of Gatcombe. =ISABEL Dead by 1388. | living 1399 I THOMAS LISLE* son and heir. Under age in 1393. Appar- • ently dead in 1428.

JOHN LISLE, gentleman, of Calbourne, held jointly a moiety in, Gatcombe, etc.. Living 1431. ' 251 John Bramshott died in the eighth year of Edward the Fourth, 1469, and at the Inquisition appears seised of the manors of Gatcombe, Whit well and Westover,the advowson of the Church of Gatcombe, together with the manor of Bramshott, certain lands called Little Gatcombe and twenty two acres of land in. Portsea, co. Southampton. That he left issue, by his marriage with Lady Katherine Pelham, two daughters his heirs. Elizabeth married John Dudley, Esquire, and Margaret, John Pakenham. Lady Katherine, the widow, is shown, by an inquisition taken on her death in 1481, to have held the manor of Gatcombe.

Margaret Pakenham died Oct. 5th, 1485. The writ'of Mandamus was issued October 22nd, and the Inquisition was held on November 5th. In the Calendar of Inquisitions, published 1904, the details are given as- follows:— " Margaret, late the wife of John Pakenham, died 5'th October, 1 Henry VII., seised of the undermentioned manors in fee. Edmund Pakenham, aged 6 and more, is her son and heir. Since her decease the premises have been occupied, and the issues and profits, thereof, taken by Thomas Arundel, Knight, Lord Mawtravers, by what right or title the jury know not."

" Hants. A moiety of the manor of Bramshute, held of William Stanley, Knight, and the Lady Elizabeth, his wife, 'Lady Worcester, in her right, as of the manor of Alton ; service unknown.' Value not stated. " Isle of Wight. A moiety of the manors of Gatcombe, Whitewell, and Calbourne, worth £g, £6, and £5, respec- tively, and severally held of Edward Widevill, Knight, as of the lordship, or Castle of Carsbroke; service unknown. Elizabeth, the wife of John Dudley, died 1499." 252

The following scheme shows the' connection of the Bram- . shott family :—

- JOHN BRAHSHOTT, of =ELIZABETH, sister and Bramshott, Esq. co-heiress of John (3) de Lisle, of Gatcombe.

WILLIAM BRAMSHOTT,=JOAN. GEORGE, of =ELIZABETH, MARGARET. =JOHN LISLE, of KNT.—held, in 1428, living S t a n d e n, daughter and Wootton, and two fees in Gat- 1432. I.ofW. "in heiress of Thruxton, combe jointly with jure uxoris." Will. Urry, Esquire, Co. John Lisle, ob. 1439. 1439. of Standen, Hants- I. of W. I (i) a. BALDWIN BRAMSHOTT, JOHN BRAMSHOTT, b.=KATHERiNE, dr. of Sir=SiR THOMAS by 1418, of age 1439. John Pelbam. ob. LEWKKNOR, of , son of Will, and Joan, ob. 1469. Inq. p.m. 1481. Inq. p.m. Trotton, Co. ' living 1468. '8 Edw. iv. • Sussex.

I . by 1481. I by 1478. ELIZABETH, dr. and co- = JOHN DUDLEY. MARGARET, dr. and co- = SIR JOHN heiress, ob. 1499. ob. 1498. heiress, ob. 148S. Inq. PAKEKHAM. p.m. 2 Hen. vn. Worsley. says that John Dudley and John Pakenham, in right of their wives, took possession of the manors, and held them in co-partnership.

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATION. Canon Venables in his guide to the Isle of Wight (i860) writes:—"The most interesting object in the church is a cross-legged wooden effigy of a knight in complete armour, under a semicircular arch on the north side of the church. This figure is of much earlier date than.those in Brading Church, and deserves careful attention. The monument bears no inscription (the common people used formerly to call it St. Radegund) but from the style of the hauberk of mail and surcoat, which is of the time of Edward I., it probably represents one of the family of Estur, to whom the manor of Gatcombe (as well as those of Whitwell and Calbourne) belonged from the time of the Doomsday Survey."